Child care themes for each month of the year with activities to accompany them.

Monthly Child Care Themes

There is an endless supply of child care themes that can be used to plan activities for young children. As a child care provider myself, I know how important it is plan educational activities for the children I provide care for that will develop fine and gross motor skills, language skills, social skills, life skills, muscles, math and problem solving skills, science skills, and pre-reading and reading skills.

Exposure to a variety of activities helps to develop these skills. Organizing these activities into planned child care themes ensures that you will provide the highest level of education to your children. Parents love knowing that their children will be following a curriculum instead of just playing with toys all day.

You may also want to consider incorporating a multi-cultural child care theme into your monthly lesson plans. You can highlight one new country each month. Talk about where the country is and show where it is on a map. Teach the children about traditions, music, special clothing that is worn, and interesting foods that are eaten. You could even have the children sample a multi-cultural snack from the country you are discussing that month. If you are fortunate enough to speak another language, share that knowledge with the children. They will really benefit from knowing more than one language.

Below you will find suggestions for monthly child care themes with samples of activities that target a variety of skills. Some activities may have to be adapted to ensure it is appropriate for the age of the child.

January Child Care Theme

Theme: Penguins and Polar Bears
Letters: A, P
Number: 1
Color: White
Shape: Circle
Activities:

Holidays:
January 1- New Year's Day
January 19- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
Science:
Show how to freeze water into ice (Predict how long it will take, then compare predictions to result).

Research about arctic animals including penguins and polar bears (discuss size and color of the animal, what it eats, and where it lives).
Social Studies:
Teach the children about Martin Luther King, Jr. and why he is an important historical figure. Have the children tell what their dream is.
Imagination:
Make a playhouse with a table and a white blanket and pretend it is an igloo.
Arts and Crafts:
Make a pair of mittens out of construction paper, then connect them with a piece of yarn. Have the child decorate, paint, color the mittens with whatever materials you provide and deem age appropriate.

Use spray adhesive to coat a styrofoam ball, then let the child roll the ball in a bowl of glitter to make a snowball.

Either provide pre-cut snowflakes or, if children are old enough, allow them to cut out their own snowflake pattern. Then, apply spray adhesive and sprinkle with glitter.
Reading:
Read "The Mitten" by Jan Brett and "The Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens."
Language:
Introduce the letters and letter sounds for A and P. Give each child a plate with enough salt on it to use his finger to practice writing the letters A and P in the salt. Ask parents to have their child bring in a picture or object that represents something that starts with letter A or letter P.
Math, Thinking Skills:
Play sorting games with winter clothing items. Have children put all the scarves together, all the boots together, all the mittens together, all the hats together, and all the socks together. For more precise sorting, have the children match up individual pairs of mittens.
Math, Shapes:
Use 3 circles (small, medium, and large) cut out from white construction paper to create a snowman. Talk about the circle and how it is round with no edges. Then, provide other pieces (hat, carrot nose, buttons, eyes, mouth, scarf) to decorate the snowman.
Math, Counting:
Introduce the number 1 and show everyone how to hold up 1 finger and count 1. Provide a worksheet that contains groups of items such as 8 stars, 5 squares, 3 triangles, 7 hearts, etc. In each group, have the child circle only 1 item and again count 1.
Coordination and Movement:
Have the children pretend to walk like a penguin, then show them how to crawl like polar bears.
Social Skills:
Have the children sit in a circle. One child picks another child to say something nice to. Each child must pick a child that has not been chosen so that everyone has a fair turn.

February Child Care Theme

Theme: Sweethearts and Friendship
Letters: B, H
Number: 2
Color: Red and Pink
Shape: Heart
Activities:

Holidays:
February 2- National Groundhog Day
February 5- National Pancake Day (Have pancakes for breakfast or lunch)
February 14- Valentine's/Friendship Day
February 18- President's Day
National Dental Health Month
Science:
Learn about groundhogs. Have the children color a picture of the groundhog. Discuss what happens if the groundhog does or does not see his shadow on groundhog day.

Cut open red (color of the month) apples to see what is inside. Discuss the different parts of the apple (stem, core, seeds, skin). Then, predict what will happen if the apple is left in the open air for 1 day, 3 days, and 5 days. What happened and why?
Social Studies:
Discuss about some of the past Presidents including Lincoln and Washington. Then, talk about our current President. Ask the children to talk about what they would do if they were the President.
Imagination:
Use the mailboxes made in arts and crafts to have the children pretend to be mail carriers delivering Valentine's/friendship cards to all their friends.
Arts and Crafts:
Have each child bring in an old shoebox to decorate with pink, red, and white paper, stickers, paint, and other items. This shoebox will be used as a mailbox to collect all the Valentine's/Friendship cards.

Give each child pre-cut hearts with the letter H on them. Let them glue candy hearts to outline the letter H.

Give the children a heart-shaped sugar cookies, frosting, and sprinkles and let them decorate their cookie for an extra special treat.

Give the children a bowl with white paint. Show them had to add a small amount of red paint, then mix the 2 colors together to make pink. Let them use the pink paint to paint a Valentine's Day picture.
Reading:
Read "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney

Read "The Little Red Hen" by J P Miller

Read "Little Red Riding Hood" by the brothers Grimm
Language:
Introduce the letters and letter sounds for B and H. Have the children make a picture collage of pictures from a magazine that begin with the letters B and H.
Math, Thinking Skills:
Have the children estimate the number of candy hearts or red hots in a jar.
Math, Shapes:
Have the children sort 3 different size hearts into a small pile, medium pile, and large pile. Or, you can have the hearts sorted by color instead of size using red, white, and pink hearts.
Math, Counting:
Introduce the number 2 and show the children how to hold up 2 fingers. Point out all the parts of the body that comes in 2's such as 2 ears, 2 eyes, 2 feet, 2 legs, 2 arms, and 2 hands.
Coordination and Movement:
Have the children dance to music and stop and freeze when the music stops.
Social Skills:
Have the children bring pre-made Valentine/Friendship cards to exchange with each child. Talk to the children about kindness and how important it is to be kind to one another.

March Child Care Theme
Theme: Shamrocks and Leprechauns
Letter: C, S
Number: 3
Color: Green
Shape: Diamond
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  March 2- Dr. Seuss' Birthday
  March 17- Saint Patrick's Day
  March 20- First day of Spring
2. Science:
  Plant seeds or a bulb for the first day of Spring and watch it grow. The seeds can be planted in a paper cup or an egg carton. Discuss what a plant needs to grow (soil, light, water), chart the progress.
  
  Put out a bowl of yellow fingerpaint and a bowl of blue fingerpaint. Let the children mix the 2 colors together on a plain piece of construction paper. They will see how they will create the color green from yellow and blue.
3. Social Studies:
  Talk about the different members of the community and how they help us. Ideas of community members include teachers, policemen, nurses, garbage collectors, firemen, and librarians.
4. Imagination:
  Have the children use the leprechaun hats they made during arts and crafts to pretend that they are leprechauns. Maybe they can go on a search for some "lucky" charms.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Leprechauns are always looking for a pot of gold under the rainbow. Use red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (purple) construction paper to create a rainbow. Children will begin by tearing small pieces of red paper then use a glue stick to glue those pieces in the shape of an arc. Follow in the order of the colors of the rainbow to continue creating the different arcs of the rainbow. In the middle of the rainbow can be a pre-made cut-out of pot of gold with a leprechaun.
  
  Give each child a cut-out of a shamrock. Allow them to fingerpaint (toddlers) or paint with brushes (preschoolers). They can use the color green by itself or green paint that has been flecked with glitter to add some sparkle.
  
  Teach the children about the diamond shape. Then, provide them with their own diamond shape that can be made into a kite. Allow them to decorate the kite with any items they choose such as foamies, pom poms, glitter, sequins, etc. Afterwards, attach a string to the kite by punching a hole and tying on the string or yarn. Let the children have a chance "fly" them around outside.
  
  Have the children use green, black, and yellow construction paper to make a leprechaun hat. Attach a band, large enough to fit around the head, so the child can wear the hat.
6. Reading:
  Read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. This will be done to celebrate the author's birthday as well as to make a connection to the color of the month which is green.
  
  Read "The Three Little Pigs" to tie into the number of the month which is 3.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for C and S. Have the children search through and cut out the letters C and S found in magazines or newspapers. Make sure they find both uppercase and lowercase letters of C and S.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Hide the cut-outs of the number 3 around the house and give some clues about where to find them in a particular location.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Use 3 hearts and have the children glue them together to create a shamrock. Then glue the shamrock to a piece of paper that is large enough to allow the children to trace around the heart-shaped shamrock.
  
  Give the child 3 different shapes (circle, square, diamond) (rectangle, diamond, triangle) (diamond, oval, heart) and ask the child to select the diamond from the group. The child can repeat this activity a few times, then rewarded with a sticker or stamp.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 3 and show everyone how to hold up 3 fingers and count to 3. Using a muffin tin or bowls, have the children count 3 of any object and place it into individual muffin slots or bowls.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Play the limbo game and see who can crawl under the bar without touching.
12. Social Skills:
  Practice good listening skills by having the children sit in a circle. The provider will tell a short story, then ask questions. The children need to understand that when someone is speaking they should show respect by listening attentively and that when they listen attentively they will be able to hear all the important words.
April Child Care Theme
Theme: Rain, Rain, Go Away
Letter: R, U (rain)
Number: 4
Color: Blue
Shape: Oval (Raindrop)
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  April 1- April Fool�s Day (wear something silly)
  April 12- Easter
  April 22- Earth Day
2. Science:
  Teach the children how to use recyclables to make a compost in celebration of Earth Day. Explain the importance of recycling paper, glass, and plastic and how it helps our environment and planet.
  
  Make April Fool's Silly Putty. In a bowl, add some corn starch. Mix in some water until the mixture is the consistency of paste. Teach the children about how the mixture goes from a liquid to a solid. (Optional: Add food coloring to mixture. The color of the month is blue.)
  
  Use the rain gauge made in arts and crafts to record the levels of rain on different days.
  
  Go on a nature walk and see what plants, flowers, trees, leaves, and insects you can find to celebrate Earth Day. Collect some of your findings along the way.
3. Social Studies:
  Research when the umbrella was first invented (about 4 thousand years ago). Who used them and for what purpose (Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese for the purpose of shade)? The Chinese were the first to make them of waterproof material.
4. Imagination:
  Have the children put on raincoats, rain boots, and grab an umbrella. Pretend it is a rainy day and put down blue carpets or blue paper for puddles. The children can go around the room jumping from puddle to puddle.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Make your own Little Cloud using blue construction paper and white cotton balls. Let the child make an outline of any cloud shape, then pull-apart some cotton balls and glue them to the cloud shape.
  
  Make a page of leaf rubbings from leaves collected on your nature walk.
  
  Make a rain gauge using plastic soda bottles or plastic water bottles. Remove the cap and discard. Cut off the top of the bottle about 1/4 of the way down. Place the cut off top upside down in the top of the bottle. This will allow the rain to travel inside the bottle to be collected. Mark the outside of the bottle using a permanent marker in 1/2 inch increments.
  
  Use stickers to decorate plastic Easter eggs.
6. Reading:
  Read "Little Cloud" by Eric Carle. Talk about what cloud shape each child would like to be and what they like to do on a rainy day.
  
  Read "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams. Talk about bunnies and what they like to eat and where they live.
7. Language:
  Sing "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring."
  
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for R and U. Have the children use blue finger paint to practice tracing over a pre-written R,r and D,d on a piece of paper.
  
  Use an umbrella to teach the opposites of up, down and open, shut.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Sort plastic Easter eggs by color or have the children match halves of plastic Easter eggs to make a complete set.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Place several shapes on the floor in a circle. Be sure to include a lot of ovals. Play music, as the music plays the children will walk in a circle along the path of the shapes. When the music stops, if the child is not standing on an oval, he or she will have to sit out. The game continues until there is only one child standing on an oval. You may need to remove the number of ovals as the game progresses to reduce the chances of landing on an oval.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 4 and show everyone how to hold up 4 fingers and count to 4. Let the children string 4 beads, pieces of cereal, or other objects onto a string.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Practice hopping on 2 feet like bunnies. Then challenge the children to hop on one foot at a time. This will require some good balancing skills.
12. Social Skills:
  Hide the plastic Easter eggs that the children made during arts and crafts. Have each child pair up with a friend to find the Easter eggs. The children will have to cooperate to work together to find the eggs.
May Child Care Theme
Theme: Daffodils for Mom
Letter: D, M
Number: 5
Color: Yellow
Shape: Triangle
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  May 1- May Day
  May 4- National Pet Week
  May 5- Cinco de Mayo
  Mother's Day
  Memorial Day
2. Science:
  Color Changing Milk- For this simple, but fun experiment, you will need a shallow bowl or cake pan, whole or 2% milk, food coloring, dish soap (preferably Dawn), and cotton swabs. Pour milk into bowl or cake pan, then add 1 drop of food coloring from each color near the center of the bowl or pan. Now, using a clean cotton swab, touch one end into the center without stirring or mixing. Does anything happen? Now, on the other end of the cotton swab, put a drop of dish soap and place the cotton swab with the dish soap on it into the middle of the milk. What happens now? The colors should burst out everywhere through the milk. Why does this happen? The chemical bonds found in the protein of the milk are broken by the dish soap which allows the color to run around freely in the milk.
3. Social Studies:
  Explain the importance of Memorial Day and why we should all be grateful to all the veterans who have given their lives to keep our nation safe and free. Talk about some of your family traditions that are celebrated during this holiday.
4. Imagination:
  Have the children pretend they are in a mariachi band. Try to find some traditional Mexican style clothing or something similar for the children to wear and let them shake their shakers while listening to some mariachi music.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, make shakers/maracas using any type of cardboard tube (oatmeal canister, plastic container), dry beans, cloth, and rubber bands. Secure a piece of heavy cloth with a rubber band around the bottom of a cardboard tube. Fill the inside about halfway with dry beans, then secure the other end with a piece of cloth and rubber bands.
  
  Make flowers out of coffee filters for mom to celebrate Mother's Day. Have the children use washable markers to color any pattern or design on a coffee filter. Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the coffee filter so that the colors begin to run. Lay the wet coffee filter on a paper towel to dry. When it is dry, gently fold in half, then twist the bottom into a point and wrap a pipe cleaner around the end to make a stem. If the children each make 2 to 4 flowers, they can put them in an empty plastic water bottle that can be used as a vase. Of course, the plastic water bottle/vase can be decorated with paint, construction paper, or other items.
  
  Use 8 popsicle sticks to create a picture frame for mom. Use 2 sticks per side and glue them together. Place a photo or picture of child's handprint with a special poem for mom. There are so many poems that can be found on the internet to melt mom's heart.
  
  Make May Day baskets. Decorate a flexible paper plate with flowers using paint, stamps, stickers, crayons, etc. Then, fold the paper plate into a cone shape and tape or staple in place. Use a hole punch to make two hole, one on each side at the top. Attach a piece of ribbon or yarn so the basket can hang.
6. Reading:
  Read "The Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown. It is a lovely story about a mother bunny and her baby bunny.
  
  Read "Are You My Mother" by P.D. Eastman.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for D and M. Have the children each bring an object from home that starts with the letter D and the letter M.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Have the children practice stacking cubes using various sizes of cubes. They will have to figure out how to make the stack keep from falling over.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Play red light/green light with 2 different shapes one of which is a triangle. Put several cut-outs of triangles and another shape into a box, hat, etc. Have each child pull out a shape, if the child pulls out a triangle, he moves forward 1 step. If he pulls any other shape, he stays put. Repeat until children cross a pre-determined finish line.
  
  Have the child identify as many triangle shapes in the room/house as possible. Reward with a sticker or stamp if the child can identify at least 1.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 5 and show everyone how to hold up 5 fingers and count to 5. Let the children use stamps to make groups of 5 stamped pictures on a paper.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Have the children listen to a word. If it starts with a letter D, they have to do 5 jumping jacks. If it starts with a letter M, they have to bend and touch their toes 5 times.
12. Social Skills:
  Since the 4th is National Pet Week, have the children bring in a picture of their pet or they can draw a picture of a pet they would like to have. Have the children share their pictures with everyone.
June Child Care Theme
Theme: Summer Fun and Insects
Letter: E, I
Number: 6
Color: Black
Shape: Octagon
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  Flag Day
  Father's Day
2. Science:
  Go on a bug hunt to see what insects you can find. Talk about the ones that fly and the ones that crawl. If possible, find a caterpillar that you can keep in a container. Record and discuss the changes as the caterpillar goes through the different stages until it changes into a moth or butterfly.
  
  Test the 5 senses using different items that the children have to guess through sight, sound, touch, taste, and feel. (Lemons, cinnamon, pepper, sandpaper, cotton balls.)
3. Social Studies:
  Teach the children the importance of obeying rules in the community. Teach stop, look, and listen. Practice obeying "stop" by having the children move around then stop when you hold up a stop sign.
4. Imagination:
  Pretend to have a lemonade stand. Make a sign, put out a table with chairs. Have the children take turns serving and being customers.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Paint a pet rock. Find a good size rock that the child can paint to keep as a pet rock.
  
  Help the child make a flag using colored construction paper that represents their heritage (Italian, Irish, French).
  
  Have the child bring a white chef's apron (can be used for grilling) or a plain white T-Shirt for daddy. The child will put his handprints on it for daddy. Using fabric markers, write "You are the best daddy hands down" on the apron or T-shirt.
  
  Make a butterfly using tissue paper,pipe cleaners, and clothespin. Cut the shape of the butterfly wings and use the clothespin as the body. Attach the pipe cleaners for the antennae.
6. Reading:
  Read "The Very Hungry Catepilar" by Eric Carle or use the felt storyboard to tell this story. They sell the book with a felt board and all the pieces that can be used to tell the story as you read along.
  
  Read "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for E and I. Provide a worksheet with pictures of objects that start with the letter E as well as other letters. Have the child circle the objects that start with the letter E only. Do the same for the letter I.
  
  Sing the "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and the "Ants Go Marching One by One."
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Have the children sort different size rocks into groups of small, medium, and large or it can be by color or by rough and smooth.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Have the children make stop signs using a pre-cut octagaon shapes that have been cut from construction paper or cardboard. Practice using them in a stop, look, and listen drill.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 6 and show everyone how to hold up 6 fingers and count to 6. Make a paper chain using the color of the month, black, to emphasize the number six.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Have some summer fun running through the sprinklers.
12. Social Skills:
  Have the children sit in a circle. Pass around a drum and have the child beat on the drum to his name. The children will have to learn to wait patiently while waiting to take turns.
July Child Care Theme
Theme: Flags and Fireworks
Letter: G, W
Number: 7
Color: Red, White and Blue
Shape: Star and Rectangle
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  July 4th- Independence Day
2. Science:
  Talk about the parts of our universe, including planets, sun, moon, and stars (shape of the month). Give the children a chance to discuss what they would do if they were an astronaut? Would they like to live on the moon? Would they like to visit another planet and why?
  
  WARNING: This experiment is extremely fun, but requires caution. You can make your own 4th of July fireworks explosion using a liter of Diet Coke and a roll of Mentos candy. This experiment needs to be done outside in an open area and the children need to be kept at a safe distance away from the experiment. Place the liter of Diet Coke on top of a table, then very quickly, but carefully add the entire roll of Mentos. The candy must be added all at one time so you will want to use a funnel type of system so that the candy can be added as quickly as possible. Once added, step far back and watch the explosion!
3. Social Studies:
  Teach about why we celebrate our Independence Day and what freedom means. You can also introduce other important symbols of America such as the flag, bald eagle, Statue of Liberty, and Liberty Bell. Ask the children to share their plans for celebrating the 4th of July.
4. Imagination:
  Pretend to have a Fourth of July parade. Decorate some wagons using crepe paper in red, white, and blue. Add some flags and other patriotic items. Or, decorate one wagon in red, one in blue, and one in white. The children will put all red colored decorations in the red wagon and so forth. Have some children walk the parade while others are sitting on the sidelines cheering. Then, let the children switch places so that everyone has a turn participating.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Make a patriotic windsock. Use blue construction paper and fold into a wide tube. Secure it closed with staples or glue stick. Attach alternation red and white strips of paper to the bottom of one end of the blue tube. Add white pre-cut stars to the blue tube. You can attach a string or yarn to the top.
  
  Make a flag using popsicle sticks. You will need 13 popsicle sticks, blue construction paper, and white stars. Paint 5 sticks red and 4 sticks white. Arrange them together starting with red, then white, red, then white and so on. Glue 3 sticks vertically on the back to hold them together. Use the final stick to glue on the back side of the left hand side to use as a flag pole. Then, cut a rectangular shape out of the blue construction paper and glue in the upper left hand corner of the popsicle sticks. Add white stars using stickers, construction paper, or sponge painting.
  
  Using a paper plate, make Mr. Golden Sun. Let the children paint the paper plate yellow. Glue strips of yellow construction paper all around the plate for the rays. Add the elements of the face by drawing them on, gluing on cut-outs, painting them on, or using pom-poms or buttons for something extra fun.
6. Reading:
  Read "The Flag We Love" by Pam Munoz Ryan.
  
  Read "Hooray for The Fourth of July� by Wendy Watson..
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for G and W. Have the children use sidewalk chalk to practice drawing the letters F,f and W,w. They can also draw pictures of objects that start with F and W.
  
  Sing the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," �Yankee Doodle,� and "The Star-Spangled Banner."
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Have the children make comparisons about each other�s height. For example, ask Billy to guess if Sammy is taller than Johnny. Find out if the class agrees or disagrees. Once there is a final decision, find out who is right, the class or Billy. This game can be repeated several times.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Play the I, Spy game. Say, I, Spy with my little eye a blue star or a red rectangle and have the children practice finding these shapes in the room.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 7 and show everyone how to hold up 7 fingers and count to 7. Make a sponge cut into the shape of a rectangle and a sponge cut into the shape of a star. Let the kids dip the shapes into paint and paint 7 rectangles, 7 stars, then make a pattern with the rectangle and star shapes.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Have the children pretend to be rockets or fireworks that are about to blast off. They can crouch down, then practice counting backwards from 7 (number of the month), and then jump up in the air.
12. Social Skills:
  Have the children sit in a circle. Make up a story about having a 4th of July cookout. Say �We are having a cookout and this is what I need __________.� Let each child take a turn sharing and idea of what item they would need for the 4th of July cookout.
August Child Care Theme
Theme: A Day at the Beach
Letter: J, O
Number: 8
Color: Purple
Shape: Cone
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  National Night Out
  National Friendship Week (3rd Week of August)
2. Science:
  The oceans are full of salt water. Let�s see what happens when we place an egg in fresh water, then in salt water. Will the egg float or sink in fresh water? How about in salt water? Fill a glass with water and place a fresh egg (be careful) or hard-boiled egg in the fresh water. What happened? Did it sink or float? Then begin to add 2 heaping teaspoons of salt at a time to the fresh water with the egg. Continue adding salt and mixing it in until the egg floats on top of the water. Why does the egg float in salt water? The salt water is more dense and the egg, which then weighs less, begins to float on top of the salt water.
  
  Talk about the parts of a fish and the differences that allow them to live under the water. For example, fish have gills to help them breathe and fins to swim around. People do not have these because we use our arms and legs to move around and lungs to breathe. See what other differences you can discover with the children.
3. Social Studies:
  For National Night Out, talk about how policemen and firemen can help us in many different situations. Go over stranger danger, fire safety, and street safety with the children.
4. Imagination:
  Pretend to be pirates on the search of treasure that is buried in the sand on a secret island. The children can dress up like pirates. Hide a box with a surprise inside. Give the children clues as to where to look for the hidden treasure.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Let the children use blue fingerpaint to make waves like the ocean using the side of the hand. When the paint dries, add fish to the ocean by gluing on colored goldfish. Add other marine life such as sharks, dolphins, crabs, and jellyfish.
  
  Let the children mix red and blue fingerpaints together on a piece of white paper to see what happens. They should get the color purple.
  
  Make an octopus. Cut a paper plate in half. Let the children paint it whatever color they would like. Attach 8 streamers, strips of paper, etc. for the legs. Add the features for the face by drawing, painting, or gluing items on.
6. Reading:
  Read �Buzzy�s Big Beach Book� by Harriet Ziefert.
  
  Read �Good Night Beach� by Adam Gamble.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for J and O. Have the children make Jell-O for letter J, then they can eat it for their snack.
  
  Sing the "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat." Practice the tongue twister �She sells seashells by the seashore.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Use seashells of different sizes to have the children sort them by small, medium, and large. You can also have pictures of different marine life and have the children sort them by color, by size, or by type of animal.
9. Math, Shapes:
  A favorite treat in the summer is ice cream on a cone. Use real ice cream cones with the point at the bottom to show the shape of a cone. Let the children use play dough to pretend as ice cream to put on top of their cone. They can even add a red cherry made from play dough on top.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 8 and show everyone how to hold up 8 fingers and count to 8. Use dried pasta shells that most resemble seashells. Let the children paint them. While they are drying, let them draw a beach scene on a piece of paper. Then, they can glue 8 of the seashells on their beach picture.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Instead of duck, duck, goose, play surfer, surfer, shark. The children will sit in a circle and one child will walk around the outside of the circle and tap each child on the head saying �surfer,� until he decides to pick someone to be �shark.� When a child is picked to be �shark,� he has to get up and run and chase the child around the circle and try to tag the child before he sits back down in the empty spot. If he tags him, then the child is it again. If he doesn�t, then he becomes the new �surfer.�
12. Social Skills:
  Have children work in pairs, taking turns to scoop sand into a bucket. The two children will have to cooperate as they take turns using one shovel to scoop the sand. When the bucket is full, they win a reward such as a sticker or stamp.
September Child Care Theme
Theme: We�re Going to the Zoo
Letter: Z, K, L
Number: 9
Color: Gray
Shape: Cube
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  Labor Day (the first Monday of the month)
  Children�s Good Manners Month
2. Science:
  Show children how to blow a balloon up using vinegar and baking soda. You will need an empty plastic water bottle, bottle, vinegar, baking soda, and a funnel. Stretch the opening of a balloon over the bottom of the funnel. Fill the balloon with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Carefully detach the balloon and set on the side. Place the funnel in the opening of the bottle and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Now, very carefully stretch the opening of the balloon over the opening of the empty water bottle. Hold on tightly to the top of the bottle and opening of balloon. Now, empty the baking soda into the bottle. As the baking soda mixes with the vinegar, it will release carbon dioxide which will rise up into the balloon and expand it. You can pull the balloon off the top, tie it, and let the children pass it around.
  
  Zoo animals use all kinds of sounds to communicate. Let�s explore how sound travels over distances to communicate danger, food, or other animals. Have children put their heads on the floor while you stomp on the ground to show how sound creates vibrations. Use paper towel rolls to make animal sounds through to show how far sounds can travel.
3. Social Studies:
  Teach the children about the zookeeper�s job at the zoo. Where do the animals come from? Who takes care of them? What do they feed the animals? Who helps them if they get sick?
4. Imagination:
  Have the children pretend they are different animals at the zoo. Are they an animal that crawls, slithers, swims, or climbs? What sounds do these animals make? Where do they like to live? What do they like to eat?
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Elephant Art: Put white paint in a bowl. Let the child add a few drops of black paint to the white and mix them together to make gray. Then, give the child a paper plate. Let him paint the plate with the gray paint. When the paint dries, attach elephant ears and an elephant trunk. You can cut out eyes and use this as a mask. Attach a popsicle stick to hold on to mask or attach a string around the back to go over the head.
  
  Make a paper chain snake using brown or green paper or both. Attach a snake head to the front of it with a little red tongue sticking out.
  
  Make zoo animal sock puppets. Be creative and choose a couple of different animals that the child can create. For example, add black stripes using black paint to make a zebra. Attach some ears and a tail, then draw a face to the sock puppet. Try also making a giraffe, bear, penguin, or hippo.
6. Reading:
  Read "Brown, Bear, Brown Bear� by Eric Carle.
  
  Read "We�re Going On A Bear Hunt� by Helen Oxenbury.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for Z, K, and L. Make a list of words for each letter. Which list is longest? Which list is shortest?
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Have the children practice matching zoo animals with their correct habitat. For example, have them try to match a monkey in the jungle, a lizard in the desert, a penguin in the snow, and a mountain lion in the mountains.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Use a cardboard box to demonstrate the shape of a cube. On each side of the cube, put a shape that the child should already be familiar with. Let him roll the cube and see what shape it lands on. The child will learn about the cube as well as review the other previously taught shapes.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 9 and show everyone how to hold up 9 fingers and count to 9. Make a songe cut into the shape of a rectangle and a sponge cut into the shape of a star. Let the kids dip the shapes into paint and paint 7 rectangles, 7 stars, then make a pattern with the rectangle and star shapes.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Practice transferring objects from one bowl to another using tweezers or tongs. This will help to develop small muscle motor skills.
12. Social Skills:
  Have the children practice saying please and thank you. You can set up a scenario where the children have a pretend �tea party.� Have some of the children be the servers and some of the children can be the customers. Have them practice saying please and thank you when they ask for things and when they receive the things they have asked for. You may want to address some other good manners for Good Manners Month.
October Child Care Theme
Theme: The Pumpkin Patch
Letter: X,V
Number: 10
Color: Orange
Shape:sphere
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  Halloween
  Fire Prevention Week
2. Science:
  One of the letters of the month is X like in x-ray. Talk to the children about what an x-ray is and what we use them for. In arts and crafts, the children can make their own x-ray boxes. X-rays are used to look at our bones, teeth, and even luggage at the airport.
  
  Research and explain the life of a pumpkin from seed to pumpkin. When are they planted? How long does it take to grow? Where do they grow best? What are pumpkins used for? How big are most pumpkins? Are there different kinds of pumpkins? Cut open the inside of the pumpkin to show what is inside. Let the children touch the inside to see how it feels. Ask them to describe it.
3. Social Studies:
  Talk about the state you live in. Show the children and map and where the state is located. Is it in the north, south, east, or west. What is the state bird, state motto, state flag, etc.? Ask the children to share what states they know.
4. Imagination:
  Have the children dress-up in Halloween costumes. I probably wouldn�t allow any scary costumes because a lot of children have fears at this age. They can pretend to go trick-or-treating.
  
  During Fire Prevention Week, have the children practice stop, drop, and roll.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  If you are able to visit a local pumpkin patch, bring back enough small pumpkins for everyone. Let the children decorate their pumpkin as they wish. They can paint it all different colors or paint a face on it. If they make it into a face, use some yarn for hair.
  
  Fill a small paper lunch bag with a couple of balled up pieces of newspaper. Tie the top end of the paper bag closed with a piece of green ribbon or yarn. Let the child paint the bottom half of the bag orange like a pumpkin. The child can draw a pumpkin face or glue pre-cut eyes, nose, and mouth pieces.
  
  Make your own X-ray box. Have each child bring in a shoebox. Cut out an opening in the center of the lid. Give each child a piece of black construction paper and white chalk. Let them draw a picture of bones, teeth, or luggage. You make want to provide pictures for them to look at as examples. Then glue the picture from the inside of the box lid so that the �x-ray� shows through the cut out opening in the lid.
  
  Give each child a pumpkin shape to trace around. Let them color or paint inside the pumpkin shape. Then, use 10 pumpkin seeks to glue on for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
6. Reading:
  Read "The Runaway Pumpkin� by Kevin Lewis.
  
  Read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat� by Lucille Colandro.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for X and V. Have the children use sticks, Q-tips, or twigs to practice making the letters X and V. Explain how both letters are made of 2 straight lines, but the lines of letter X cross and the lines of letter V meet at the bottom.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Print out a large picture of a pumpkin, black cat, ghost or something related to Halloween. Cut the picture into several pieces to make a puzzle. Let the children take turns putting the puzzle back together to see if they can figure out what is in the picture.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Use a Styrofoam ball to illustrate the concept of a sphere. What objects look like a sphere: the sun, a beach ball, the moon, a pumpkin. Does a sphere have any edges? Is it straight or round?
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 10 and show everyone how to hold up 10 fingers and count to 10. Use pumpkin seeds to help with counting.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Let the children have some free time to practice kicking a soccer ball, bouncing a basketball, or throwing a soft ball. These activities work to improve coordination, teach them about spheres, and get them up and moving which is great exercise.
12. Social Skills:
  Have the children share ideas about how to prevent fires and what emergency protocols to take in the event of a fire.
November Child Care Theme
Theme: Pilgrims and Indians
Letter: N,Q
Number: 11
Color: Brown
Shape:cylinder
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  Thanksgiving
  Apple Month (Actually, September, October, and November are all considered Apple Month)
2. Science:
  Since corn has long been a tradition in Thanksgiving celebrations, you can talk about corn, how it grows, and what is used for, and the parts of the corn cob. Try popping your own popcorn kernels in a pan the old-fashioned way. Turn your stove on to medium heat, and then place enough vegetable oil in the bottom of a saucepan just to cover it. When the oil is hot, add your popcorn kernels and cover with a lid. Soon you should hear the popping sounds of the kernels bursting. This will also make a tasty snack if the children are over the age of 3. ** Remember popcorn is a choking hazard so you may want to send the popcorn home in baggies and let the parents decide if it is ok.
  
  Have the children help you make some pumpkin bread. Let each child take a turn helping to measure out an ingredient and stir the mix together. Show how it transforms from a liquid like state into a solid. Enjoy the pumpkin bread.
3. Social Studies:
  Teach the children the story of the First Thanksgiving. Who was there? What foods were shared? Are any of these foods the same ones they we eat today at our Thanksgiving meal?
4. Imagination:
  Have a Thanksgiving feast on the floor with half of the children dressed as pilgrims and half of the children dressed as Indians. They will make their costumes during arts and crafts. Lay down some brown paper and set out paper plates in front of the children. They can eat turkey, grapes, cheese cubes, corn, rolls, and other age appropriate foods.
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Make a turkey using the children�s handprints and footprints. Trace each child�s feet onto a piece of brown (color of the month) construction paper. Then trace the handprint on a couple of different colors of construction paper such as orange, red, and yellow (you will need about 3 or 4 handprint cut-outs). Cut all of the shapes out and begin to assemble. Take the 2 footprints and glue one heel of the footprint on top of the other heel in a diagonal manner. This will create the body using the heel as the head and the toes of each footprint as the legs and toes. Then glue the handprints around the sides and top behind the footprints. This will create the feathers. Give the turkey some eyes, a triangle nose, and the snood (the little fleshy part that hangs from the beak).
  
  Let the children choose if they would like to be a pilgrim or an Indian. If they want to be an Indian, use a brown paper bag to make a vest. Cut arm holes and a neck hole with the bag still folded together. Open the bag up and make a cut from the bottom to the top on the front of the vest to create an opening. Let them decorate their vest any way they would like. Then use a strip of brown paper, long enough to go around the child�s head, to make a headband. Fasten it together with glue, and then attach some feathers (real or cut-outs) that stick up from behind. To make a pilgrim�s hat, you will need black, white, and yellow construction paper. Cut out a black strip of paper that is long enough to fit around a child�s head and fasten together with glue. Cut out a black hat from the construction paper and glue it to the front of the black headband. Cut out a band from the white construction paper and glue it on to the front of the hat. Add a square buckle to the front using the yellow construction paper.
  
  Make apple prints using real apples. Put out bowls of different colors of paint. Cut apples in half and let the children use them to dip into the paint and press down on paper to make apple prints.
  
  Give the children a pre-made picture of corn on the cob. Let them glue on corn kernels to the corn on the cob, then cut out the picture. Attach corn husks to one end of the corn on the cob to make it more authentic.
6. Reading:
  Read �One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims� by B.G. Hennessy.
  
  Read "The Perfect Thanksgiving� by Eileen Spinelli.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for N and Q. Provide the children with a page that has a capital N and lowercase n printed on it. Give them different nuts or nutshells to glue along the outline of the letters N and n. Do the same for the letters Q and q, but this time let them use Q-tips (cut in half) to glue along the outline.
  
  Teach this traditional rhyme:
  
  The turkey is a funny bird,
  It�s head goes bobble � bobble;
  And all he knows is just one word�
  Gobble, gobble, gobble!
  Traditional
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Using red and green apples or red and green apple cut-outs, let the children see how man patterns they can come up with. For example, they could arrange the apples in a red, green, red, green sequence or red, green, green, red sequence. Whenever the pattern is finished, ask they what would come next if they had more apples.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Have the children bring in an oatmeal box or any can with a lid. Show them how the oatmeal box is the shape of a cylinder. Then, during arts and crafts time, make a Native American drum. Cover the cylinder with brown construction paper. Let the children draw or paint different Native American symbols all around it. Put the lid on the can. Cover the lid with a circle cut from a paper bag or construction paper that has been cut 2� larger than the circle of the lid. Drape the circle over the lid and secure around the oatmeal box with a rubber band.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 11 and show everyone how to count to 11. Make a noodle necklace using dried pasta and a piece of string, ribbon, or yarn. Reinforce the letter N and that the word �noodles� starts with the letter N. Then, let the children string on 11 noodles. When they are finished, tie the ends together. You can let them paint the noodles first.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Play the �Hokey,Pokey.� Children can practice following directions, using right and left, and using the appropriate body part.
12. Social Skills:
  Teach the children about the importance of being able to say �I�m sorry� when they hurt someone�s feelings, break something, or disobey a rule. It is important that children feel remorse and learn to show that they are remorseful by saying the words �I�m sorry.�
December Child Care Theme
Theme: Holidays Around the World
Letter: Y, T
Number: 12
Color: Gold, Silver
Shape:pyramid
Activities:
1. Holidays:
  Hanukkah
  Christmas
  Kwanzaa
2. Science:
  Make your own frost. You will need a can such as a soup can with the label removed. Fill the can about halfway with crushed ice. Add about 4 tablespoons of rock salt. Mix together well for about 30-40 seconds then let it sit. Sit back and watch as the frost begins to form on the outside of the can. Let the children touch the frost and describe how it feels.
  
  Talk about the different types of winter weather. Depending on where you live, you may get more snow, freezing rain, or sleet. For example, I live near Dallas and we hardly ever get snow, just freezing rain that creates icy conditions on the roads. If you are fortunate to have snow, you can put some snow is a Ziploc baggie and some ice in a different baggie. Which melts faster, the snow or the ice?
3. Social Studies:
  Teach the children about different holiday celebrations from around the world. Talk about the country in which the holiday is celebrated, show them on a map, then talk about traditions that go along with those holidays.
4. Imagination:
  Pretend it is Christmas morning. What did Santa bring? What presents are you hoping to find?
5. Arts and Crafts:
  Make ornaments using applesauce and cinnamon. Mix together equal parts applesauce and cinnamon. If the mixture is too wet, add more cinnamon until you have a nice dough to work with. Roll the dough out about �� in thickness on a floured piece of wax paper. Use holiday shaped cookie cutters to cut out different ornaments. While it is wet, put a hole through the top about a 1� from the top. The ornaments will need a day or two to dry completely through. When they are completely dry, put a string, ribbon, or piece of yarn through the hole so that it can hang.
  
  Make a handprint wreath using the colors associated with Kwanzaa. These colors are red, black and green.
  
  Make a dreidel. To do this, you will need to print out the template from here. Follow the instructions and let the children have fun spinning their dreidels.
  
  Give the children pine cones. Spray them with spray adhesive, then let them roll the pine cones in bowls filled with gold and silver glitter (the colors of the month).
6. Reading:
  Read �The Polar Express� by Chris Van Allsburg.
  
  Read "How The Grinch Stole Christmas� by Dr. Seuss.
  
  Read �Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights� by Leslie Kimmelman.
  
  Read �A Kwanzaa Celebration� by Nancy Williams.
7. Language:
  Introduce the letters and letter sounds for Y and T. Use yarn to trace the outline of capital and lowercase letter Y. Use gold and silver tinsel to practice make capital and lowercase letter T.
  
  Be sure to sing all the great holiday songs.
8. Math, Thinking Skills:
  Have the children sort gold and silver bows into 2 different piles.
9. Math, Shapes:
  Make a pyramid template for each child. First, draw a square on the middle of a piece of paper. Then draw 4 triangles pointing out on each side of the square. Cut around the outside edges, then fold each triangle in, leaving the square as the base. Secure the tops together to form the pyramid. The pyramid can be decorated as a Christmas tree. Give the children different items to decorate their tree. A trunk can be added as well.
10. Math, Counting:
  Introduce the number 12 and show everyone how to count to 12. Give each child 12 jingle bell balls. Let them count each one as they string it on a piece of yarn to make a jingle bell bracelet. Afterward, sing �Jingle Bells� and let the children shake their bracelets.
11. Coordination and Movement:
  Have a book exchange. Let the children each bring in a new or gently used book. Wrap the books. Then, have the children sit in a circle. Hand out 1 book and begin to play some holiday music. Pass the book around until the music stops. Whoever has the book when the music stops, gets to keep the book. Continue until everyone has a book to unwrap.
12. Social Skills:
  Play �Follow the Reindeer.� Let each child have a turn at being �Rudolph,� who is the leader and wears a red nose. The leader will have the others follow as he walks, jumps, crawls his way around the room.
Additional Child Care Themes
1. Living in the Jungle
2. A Day at the Zoo
3. Cowboys and Cowgirls
4. All About Me
5. Things That Go
6. Our Community Helpers
7. Construction Zone
8. Let's Go Camping
9. Our 50 States
Child Care Themes for Babies and Toddlers
1. Fruits and Vegetables
2. Parts of the Body
3. Nursery Rhymes
4. Animals and Animal Sounds
5. Getting Dressed
6. Seasons
7. Days of the Week
8. Shapes
9. Colors
10. Feelings
11. Dress-up and Pretend
12. Musical Instruments
13. Opposites
14. Manners
15. Counting and Numbers
16. Mommy and Baby Animals
17. Family
18. Times of the Day
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